Portobello Mushroom and Orzo Salad

You know what I absolutely hate? Going to the grocery store with a list of ingredients to buy for a recipe and not being able to find that one crucial item you need! In this case, I wanted to make Real Simple's Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms with Feta and Almonds and I couldn't find barley, which was the bulk of the stuffing. Grrr!!! I had already purchased the Portobello mushrooms and green onions from Wilson Farm so I decided to improvise. I swapped the barley for cooked orzo. I had more dried orzo at home that I knew what to do with. Instead of almonds, I used some grilled corn. The result. Fabulous! A delicious orzo salad on top of roasted mushrooms. Carlos doesn't like mushrooms but he looked a bit jealous when he saw me diving into this plate of deliciousness. He asked for some and he enjoyed it, mushrooms and all!

Ingredients:

4 Portobello Mushrooms, stems and gills removed and tops cleaned

extra light olive oil

1 cup of dried orzo

2 ears of corn, grilled

4 green onions

juice of half of lemon

1/3 cup of extra light olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

crumbled feta

This makes enough for two people.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 

Clean the tops of your Portobello mushrooms, remove the stems and scrape out the gills with a spoon. Brush the tops with olive oil. Add to a baking sheet top-side-up and bake for 10 minutes. Then flip them over and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

While the mushrooms are roasting in the oven, grilled your corn and bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the 1 cup of orzo and cook to package directions (about 6-8 minutes). Drain the water. Add the orzo to a bowl. 

Cut the corn off the ears and finely chop your green onions. Toss with the orzo. Add the lemon juice and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and mix.

Plate two mushrooms, top-side-down, and spoon half of the orzo salad over the top. Sprinkle some feta all over and dig in!